by Mark Ainley /
Interview /
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September 19, 2017
British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor has been in the spotlight for over half of his lifetime, having won the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2004 at the age of 11. He was already demonstrating
“The Greatest Pianist You’ve Never Heard Of”
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October 16, 2015
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One of the marvels of our technological age is the possibility of new discoveries in musical arenas. Old records are being reissued and made more available than at any other time in history and archival
Living the Classical Life Interview
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August 25, 2015
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In July 2014, I was interviewed by Zsolt Bognar as part of his Living the Classical Life series of interviews. Although generally until that point the performers had tended to be well-known pianists such as
Resources for Historical Piano Recordings
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May 27, 2015
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If you are interested in purchasing recordings of the artists featured in my posts, the following sources may be useful – most of which are the labels themselves. I always suggest, if possible, that you
Magnificent Münz
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May 26, 2015
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It is a sad truth that there are many great pianists who never had the career that their artistry warranted. For some it was management, for others luck, and yet for others, there is the
The Firebrand
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August 19, 2014
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The Israeli-American pianist Natan Brand was one of the most fiery of pianists, a towering talent with a mercurial temperament that fuelled his impassioned conceptions. When he died in 1990 at the age of 46,
Benjamin Grosvenor’s ‘Dances’
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August 1, 2014
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Benjamin Grosvenor’s new album ‘Dances’ launches on August 4, 2014 in the UK and a few weeks later in North America. I am delighted to have had the opportunity to write the booklet notes
The Valse Mélancolique
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December 31, 2012
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For fans of great music, the possibility of a new discovery is always tantalizing. However, there are times when a work is misattributed – the famous ‘Albinoni Adagio’, for example, was written centuries after the
CD Review: Benjamin Grosvenor’s “Rhapsody In Blue”
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September 24, 2012
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The celebrated British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor has released the second CD in his much-publicized contract with Decca. After last year’s critically lauded solo disc featuring compositions by Chopin, Liszt, and Ravel, his new release focuses
Twilight of a God
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April 23, 2012
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Alfred Cortot’s name is sometimes uttered with disdain for his technical ability at the keyboard. It is indeed a fact that some of Cortot’s performances have wrong notes, something that our sanitized ears today are